Remembering His Rich Wounds REPOST

Crown Him the Lord of love!
Behold His hands and side—
Rich wounds, yet visible above,
In beauty glorified.
No angel in the sky
Can fully bear that sight,
But downward bends His wond’ring eye
At mysteries so bright.

Crown Him with Many Crowns (1852)

By: Matthew Bridges, v. 3 by Godfrey Thring, pub.1874

Listen to this modern arrangement as you prepare to ponder this old hymn. Please make certain to enjoy the video below.

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Transcript may be found below, at the end of the blog.

We continue our journey of resonance on this side of Easter considering His wounds this week.  Though we will be spotless eternally, He will bear the scars that will serve to remind us of the price He paid.  May those remembrances inform our praise now and eternally.  Let’s tune our hearts.

Believing

If we are going to crown Him the Lord of love, we must be willing to consider the wounds He bore to accomplish the work that entitles Him to the crown.  Jesus taught that there is no greater love than to lay down ones life for your friends [John 15:13], then He did just that.  Jesus is the Lord of love, and we will crown Him as such in our Tunings today, and, Lord wiling, our lives eternally.

Crown Him the Lord of love! Behold His hands and side—

The wounds He bore are now scars.  They are healed but not removed.  This is clear from His encounters after His resurrection with His disciples, like this one.

Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not disbelieve, but believe.” John 20:27 ESV

When Jesus appeared to His disciples following His resurrection, He obviously still had the crucifixion wounds.  Thomas was not there during that first visit, so He did not believe. For this reason Thomas gets a bad wrap, often referred to as Doubting Thomas, but truth be told, how often have each of us failed to believe on someone else’s testimony. It is not until we have our own encounter with the living Christ that we believe.

Jesus does not judge Thomas, but instead shows up to Him.  When Jesus appeared again He offered Thomas the opportunity to believe. And He did.  For that reason, for the rest of his life and eternity I believe He has the right to called Believing Thomas.  Wouldn’t you prefer to be remembered for the times you believed rather than when you doubted?

RESONATE!
We find ourselves again on this side of the resurrection account.  We have once again considered the claims of Christ and found them to be worthy of believing.  What will you do today to allow your faith to be put on display? Jesus still bears those scars for you.  How will you bear His name today? It may look different for each of us, but I pray it has the similar quality of belief.  Take a few moments and ask Jesus to show you how to put your faith in His finished work on display today.

Glorified

Rich wounds, yet visible above, In beauty glorified.

What an interesting way to describe wounds, rich.  Oh, but they are.  They are the wounds that purchased our redemption, and He will bear them eternally.

It is hard for us to imagine what wounds must look in glory, especially since He will be the only One who has any. He will not be nailed to a cross, but will still bear those wounds.  He will not be a lamb slain and lying across an altar, but He will bear some resemblance to one.

It is difficult to conceive what John is attempting to describe when said this.

And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain…Revelation 5:6a ESV

Jesus, the Lamb of God, is described as appearing as though He/It had been slain.  Though it is not clear why, obviously something about His appearance evokes this description leading us to believe His wounds are still visible. Why do you think that is?  

Why is it that His wounds will still be visible, albeit glorified, eternally? I suppose it is for two reasons. First, to remind us of His sacrifice of love. Second, to evoke a continual, eternal response of worship.

How kind of Jesus not only to suffer those wounds, but to bear them eternally for the glory of God and our good. You will praise Him then, but why not put in some practice today.  Praise the Lamb that was slain for bearing the wounds that brought you life.

RESONATE!
Take a moment and try to imagine that scene before the throne.  Close your eyes and ask the Holy Spirit to give you a sense of what John describes.  See the Lamb that was slain and His wounds for you. Give Him praise!

Jesus, thank You for offering the perfect sacrifice so that I could be redeemed. Your love for me is greater than I can fathom.  I am so thankful for the opportunity to remember and give you praise with my life today, and around Your throne on another day.  Hallelujah!  In Jesus’ name.  Amen!

Reflective Tuning!

Keep coming back, and we will work to help you remove the things that may hinder your longing for His return by cultivating an awareness of God’s presence.   We will help you tune your heart to live out your worship by providing resources like this to help you acknowledge the greatness of God as you become more Resonant, 7 days a week.

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Video 38.3 Transcript (16.3 Reframed)

Welcome to Tuesday Tunings at Resonant 7, where we reflect on the reality of God and resolve to let it resound in our lives, repeatedly. Let’s tune our hearts.

Crown Him the Lord of love!
Behold His hands and side—
Rich wounds, yet visible above,
In beauty glorified.
No angel in the sky
Can fully bear that sight,
But downward bends His wond’ring eye
At mysteries so bright.

The second crown we bestow on Jesus is the One He earned when He sacrificed His life to purchase our redemption.  It was the greatest act of love in history.  As we look to Him we see the marks of the crucifixion.  May that vision ever move us to tears, and praise!

Jesus, move my eyes to tears.

Yes, He will forever bear those wounds, and when we see them we will always be reminded of His love for us.  Somehow they are still visible, but glorified.   Imagine what that must be like.  He chooses to retain the reminder of His suffering for us.  Thank Jesus for those wounds.

Jesus, I thank You for Your wounds.

Angels who have forever circled the throne and eternally lifted their praise to the Lord God Almighty can not fully bear the sight of His glorified wounds.  They cover their eyes with two wings, but still they can not take it in.  Ponder what that sight must be like?

Spirit, help me ponder what the angels see.

Bright mysteries. Seems like a contradiction as mysteries tend to be shrouded in darkness and mist, but not so with these wounds.  Angels bend their eyes downward in wonder, and we may as well, but we look forward to crowning Him the Lord of love eternally with heartfelt praise.

Jesus, I crown You the Lord of love!

Take a few moments to talk to Jesus about what has surfaced in your heart, or just listen to what He is saying to you, then we will sing once more.

Sing

Take the awareness of God’s presence cultivated in these last few minutes into the next ones and beyond.  Until next time, be Resonant.

The post Remembering His Rich Wounds REPOST appeared first on Resonant 7.

Image Attributions
Behold His Hands – https://downloadwallpaper.org/pt/passion-of-the-christ-wallpaper-2/2/
The Lamb That Was Slain – https://psalmistpetegardner.com/2019/09/25/the-glory-of-the-lamb